Augusta metro unemployment rate declines slightly in July

The rate in June was 9.3 percent. The rate was 9.6 percent in July a year ago.

The rate declined because the number of job seekers went down slightly and people with jobs increased slightly.

Metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 6.9 percent, while metro Dalton and the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region tied for the highest at 12.3 percent.

Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July was 8.8 percent, up from 8.5 percent in June. The rate was 9.1 percent in July a year ago. South Carolina had an unemployment rate of 8.1 percent last month.

BY THE NUMBERS

A look at the county-by-county jobless numbers:

July 2013

June 2013

July 2012

Richmond

11.1%

11.0%

11.6%

Columbia

7.3%

7.4%

7.3%

Burke

12.8%

13%

13.2%

McDuffie

11.5%

10.4%

11.3%

Aiken

7.6%

8.5%

8.6%

Edgefield

8.4%

8.3%

9.5%

Sources: Georgia Department of Labor, South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce